“Soldiers when in desperate straits lose the sense of fear. If there is no place of refuge, they will stand firm. If they are in hostile country, they will show a stubborn front. If there is no help for it, they will fight hard.”

-Sun Tzu - The Art of War.

Set in two eras, The Soldier Legacy follows a Digger serving in the 9^th Division A.I.F during World War 2, who wears a mask in the jungles of New Guinea to honour a fallen mate who died saving his life. It also follows the Grandson of the Digger in 2011 who now wears the mask to fight a different war: against the rising gang activity and street violence in his outer Brisbane suburb. Both ‘Soldiers’, young and old, aim to keep a promise and to preserve the ideal of “keeping lives safe” by the only way they know how; the old Aussie adage of “Never say die”!

The Soldier Legacy is part ‘action-adventure’, part ‘war story’, a dash of ‘superhero’ and all Australian. That’s no capes and powers here though; it’s about a bloke in a mask, full of courage, determination and underdog spirit. It’s also a story about legacy and the things we do to honour our family and mates, and to keep a promise.

Inspired by the original vigilantes and wartime superheroes of the 1940’s, the Stan Lee and Jack Kirby superhero and war story comics of the 1960’s and the everyday men and women in our own Australian wartime history , The Soldier Legacy aims to bring an Australian sensibility and action hero to the forefront of comic book culture. The series is created and illustrated by Paul Mason, as part of his Doctorate of Visual Arts (DVA) studies at the Queensland College of Arts (Griffith University), and published by Black House Comics.

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Issue 1: The Origin of the Soldier “Lest I Forget”.

‘World War 2 rages in the Pacific as the enemy thrust attempts to regain control of the Huon Peninsula...Amongst the day and night battles with roadblocks, intense skirmishes and moving sweeps of Enemy soldiers, word spreads of a Digger who wears a leather mask, whose forearms bear the Australian Southern Cross, and who fights like nothing they’ve ever seen. He is the Soldier’

‘The Soldier’ is born twice over in the pages of this first issue; within the jungle of New Guinea in the 1904’s and in 2011, in the streets of suburban Brisbane. Both from different events, but both follow the one promise: to keep lives safe.

Issue 2: Chapter 1 “Know your Enemy”.

‘The Soldier’ finds himself on a personal mission to free a captured POW from execution by a brutal and maniacal Japanese 20^th Division Lieutenant, an Executioner who believes he is a Samurai warrior. Things become complicated when ‘The Soldier’ chooses to also rescue a Japanese soldier branded a ‘traitor’ by his own army.  But does he really want to be rescued from the Samurai’s blade?

Meanwhile, the Soldier’s grandson begins his war on suburban street gangs with a passive stakeout operation: take some incriminating pictures of a night time stolen goods trade and pass the pics off anonymously to the local police. But when the trade goes bad and an innocent person gets in the line of fire, can the young ‘Soldier’ stay quietly on the sideline?

Issue 3: Chapter 2 “Do not press a desperate foe” (Available October 2011)

The adventure continues as the Executioner’s commandos move through the jungle hunting ‘The Soldier’, the “Fuzzy Wuzzies” aiding the Aussie diggers and Keiji, the Japanese soldier branded a “traitor”. But was Keiji really betraying his country or merely standing up to his own beliefs against a power-crazy mad man? And does ‘The Soldier’ really trust a man meant to be his enemy?

Meanwhile, the quiet suburbs are about to get a whole lot louder as the Gang war begins to erupt and new players are brought in- with the young  ‘Soldier’ and the “innocent” woman stuck in the middle!

Featuring amphibious tanks! Enemy Commandos! Juggalos and...wait?...a Nazi?! 

Creator / Writer Artist: Paul Mason

Paul Mason is the creator/writer/artist on The Soldier Legacy for Black House Comics, and is studying a Doctorate of Visual Arts, focusing on comic books. Website:www.pm-comic.blogspot.com/

CLICK HERE to read more about Paul.